Shizuoka Speech Contest Winner - Daichi Yaguchi!

 

 

On Sunday, October 27th in Shizuoka City, Daichi Yaguchi went home as the 5th place winner in the Annual Prefectural English Speech Contest! Daichi worked so hard on his speech entitled, "Think For Yourself". He spoke and sounded so well! We were all really proud of him. Good job to all who participated, and congratulations, Daichi!

 



 

Happy Halloween!

I know it's November and Halloween is technically over, but this is the first chance I have had to write in a while. Things have been busy lately, which is good!

I want to start off with saying that Halloween in the States feels very different than Halloween here in Japan. (It's better in Japan!) I stopped celebrating Halloween when I was around 15 years old (about all of my students' ages) and really haven't done much to acknowledge it since. Don't get me wrong, growing up I actually LOVED Halloween! All the candy, cute costumes and cool Disney Halloween cartoons and other shows that would come on TV were my favorite parts about Halloween! I loved going Trick-or-Treating with my little sister in costumes our Grandmother made for us, and then coming home to pour all of our candy and chocolates out onto the floor to make two huge piles! When you're a kid, that's the best! But somewhere along the way, the innocence that can be Halloween was stolen from me. I struggled with even acknowledging the day with my students, but I soon realized, it wasn't about me - it's about them, and Halloween was what I taught them it was. So, slightly reluctantly, I decided to revisit the childhood magic that is Halloween, for my students.

I don't have any children of my own yet, and this may sound silly, but I feel like I understand parents a little bit more now when they say things like "you can see holidays through your kids' eyes and suddenly it's like it's brand new again; like your experiencing it for the first time". That's not an exact quote, but that's the basic gist of it.

I had an idea from a fellow ALT friend of mine to get small costumes and set them on the kids' desks to find when they walk into class. So, I raided a couple 100 Yen shops and that's just what I did! The plan was to bribe them with candy so they would wear their costumes during class. (Although most kids really didn't need bribing). And, they had to say "Trick-or-Treat" to me at some point during the class in order to get candy. I'm sure their favorite part of the day was getting candy, but my favorite part was seeing and hearing their excitement as soon as they walked through the door. No one was expecting to have a witch's hat, a wizard's hat or bunny ears on their desk during class (to name a few). I think Halloween at Gotemba Minami may have actually been more fun for me than it was for them.

To sum it up, I want to thank my students for bringing the innocent magic back that is Halloween and I want to thank Japan (especially Disney) in general for making everything for Halloween so colorful, beautiful, cute and innocent.

Homeroom 12 after we watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in our extra class!

One half of Homeroom 14 in class...

...and the other half of Homeroom 14! :)

English Club!

 

Busy with English Club activities... and candy... lots of candy...

 



Our Arts & Crafts activity for Halloween. Each student made their own Jack-O-Lantern and I hung them up all over the room!

 

SO. MANY. PUMPKINS!

 

 

I can't wait until next Halloween! Of course this means I have to top myself... guess I better start planning now! :D

 

Speaking of Speeches...

I was asked to give a small speech at an Assembly/Award Ceremony last week on October 1st.

The Assembly was awesome! Kocho-sensee (Principal) opened with a Saxaphone solo! I found out later, he has only been playing for about three or four months and he sounded fantastic! We were all really impressed. It was a great start to the Ceremony!

A few awards were given for Sports and things... (I only say "and things" because I could only understand the Volleyball part... the rest was slightly lost on me. Ha!) I was also slightly distracted because one of my students, Haruna, from Homeroom 13 won the award for leading the girl's Volleyball team to a Number 1 victory! Congratulations Gotemba Minami Girl's Volleyball! And congratulations to all the students who received awards that day! Daichi was also recognized for his achievement at the Speech Contest! I wish I had pictures to show you, but I was too busy being nervous to give my speech in both English AND Japanese...

I was really nervous about the Japanese part. Looking at the translation from English to Japanese that Hara-sensee wrote for me made me have flashbacks to my interview for JET. When I interviewed for my position as an ALT through the JET Programme, I had to read (what seemed to me to be) a terribly long passage that was written in both Hiragana and Kanji. I started out just fine, but by the 5th line out of 25 my speech had suddenly slowed to a halt and I was guessing on Kanji. It felt dreadfully slow and painful and I remember wanting to just stop reading and give up in the middle of my interview. I just kept thinking about how I did NOT want that to happen when I gave my speech at school on this day.

I practiced a bit, and on the day of the speech I didn't slow down or give up speaking in Japanese. I got through it; I persevered! And now I understand my students a little bit more.

I thought I would put both the English and Japanese versions of my speech here for you to read in case my Japanese did not make it across very well. :)

The topic was basically, "whatever I wanted to tell the students". I wanted to keep it fairly summed up, but I wanted them to know the most important things to me. So... here's what I came up with:


English:

Good morning. I am honored to speak to you today, and I want to share a few of my own life lessons. In 2010 I got very sick, and had to go to the hospital several times.  In America, hospitals are a scary place because you only go to them if something is seriously wrong. My family and I were worried because the doctors didn’t know if I would ever be completely well again. During this scary time, I learned many things. I learned to believe that God would heal me when the medicine stopped working. I learned that God loves me and has a better plan for my life than I can imagine; God would protect me and I would get through this difficult time and that He will always take a bad situation and use it for good. I also learned that you are never too old or too cool to need your mom and dad. Today, I am fully healed and want to tell you that God can heal you too, and He loves you and will protect you. Appreciate your mom and dad and tell them you love them every day because time goes by too fast. Appreciate the moment you are in and don’t worry about things in the future that you can’t control. Things will always work out. My dad always tells me, “do right, and trust God”, and I want to tell you the same. Thank you.

Japanese:

Ohayoo gozaimasu. Watashi wa kyou minasan ni mukete ohanashi ga deki, watashi jishin no jinsei no kyoukun wo ikutsu ka kyouyu dekiru koto wo kouei ni omoimasu. Nisen jyuu nen ni watashi wa totemo taichoo ga waruku nari, nankaika byouin ni ikanakereba narimasen deshita. Amerika dewa, byouinn wa totemo kowai basho desu. Nazenaraba, hidoku dokoka no guai ga warui baai ni dake hitobito wa byouinn ni iku kara desu. Watashi no kazoku to watashi wa shinnpai shimashita. Toiunomo, isha wa, watashi no taichoo ga hutatabi kanzenni yokunaru ka douka wakaranakatta kara desu. Kono osoroshii jiki ni watashi wa ookunokoto wo manabimashita. Watashi wa, kusuri ga kikanakunatta toki ni, kamisama ga watashi wo naaoshitekureru to sinjiru kotowo manabimashita. Watashi wa, kamisama ga watashi wo aishitekureteiru shi, watashi ga kangaerareru yorimo watashi no jinsei wo yoriyoku keikakusiteiru, tsumari, kamisama wa watashi wo mamottekurete ite, watashi wa kono konnan na tokii wo norikoeru koto ga dekiru to manabimashita. Soshite, kamisama wa itsumo warui jyoukyou wo tukuri, sore wo iikoto ni tsukau to wakarimashita. watashi wa mata, hahaoya ya titioya wo hitsuyou to suru koto ni toshi wo totteisugitari, zuuzuushisugiru koto wa kesshite nai toiu koto wo manabimashita. Ima, watashi wa kanzenni byouki kara kaihuku shimashita sorede, watashi wa kamisama ga minasan mo iyashitekurerushi, kamisama ga minasan wo aishite ite minasan wo mamottekureru to tutaetai no desu. Minasann no okaasan ya otoosan ni aishiteiru to mainichi tutaete kudasai, nazenaraba, toki ga sugiru noha haya sugiru kara desu. Minasan ga ima koko ni iru koto no arigatasa ni kanshashite kudasai. Soshite, jibun de kontorooru dekinai shourai no koto ni tuite nayamanaide kudasai.Monogoto wa itsumo nantoka naru mono desu. Watashi no titi wa itsumo watashi ni iimasu.Tadashii koto wo shinasai. Soshite, kamisama wo sinjina sai. Watashi mo onajikoto wo minasan ni iitai to omoimasu. Goseichoo arigatoo gozaimashita.

Speech Contest

This will be short and sweet, but is long overdue...

I want to say a BIG congratulations to Daichi for placing third in the first round of the Speech Contest! Daichi spoke about Japanese companies and how they have to think for themselves. He gave some very insightful economic and business advise and strategy plans that my ALT friends were very impressed with. I think the rest of the crowd was very impressed by his ideas as well!

He and Natsuki worked so very hard and I am so proud of both of them for the effort and devotion they put into participating this year. They are both first place winners in my eyes!

Daichi will move on to the next round of the competition on Sunday, October 27th in Shizuoka City. Prefectural Speech Contest round 2, here we come!

Daichi and Natsuki before the big event!

 

Daichi giving his speech entitled, "Think For Yourselves"

 

Natsuki giving her speech entitled, "The Pleasure of English"

I love them, but why are they so much taller than me!? haha :) 

Daichi receiving his award for coming in 3rd place!

Happiness! 

Group Shot



The Fast, The Slow and English Club!

Well... I thought I would be able to post something pretty much right after the opening ceremony but time has been moving so fast lately! I can't believe we are already into the second full week of the new semester. Actually, it feels like time is flying by, and moving at a glacial speed all at the same time.

I guess I'll explain...

At school, most of my classes are already into their second lesson (Lesson 7) in their textbooks while others are just one class away from catching up. I am working hard to remember my students' names, but it has been a little challenging. I had each of my students fill out name cards that they stand up on their desks at the start of each class so that I can read their names from up at the blackboard. I love when they have their name cards on their desks because it helps me remember everyone's name and it also helps with calling on volunteers for class activities.

English Club has already met twice now (and we are getting ready to add a second meeting day during the week)! I have really enjoyed getting to know my students in English Club so far. Last week, we played another getting-to-know-you game called "Have You Ever..." in which the 11 of us formed a circle of 10 chairs. One student then stood in the center and asked a "have you ever" question. Whoever can answer "yes" to the question has to quickly get up and sit in a new seat. Whoever doesn't find an empty seat stands in the center and asks a new question. It got a little crazy when everyone was up and eagerly searching for a new seat. I think everyone really enjoyed it! We then had "Popcorn and Movie Time" where we watched "My Neighbor Totoro" in English. The students had never seen it in English before. I learned last week from the "Have You Ever..." game that they have also never tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (the American lunch classic). I think I will have to bring the ingredients this Friday to Club and have the students make them so they can try it. (Although, personally I prefer peanut butter and banana, so maybe we will have to try that one too) ;-)

The speech contest is fast approaching and Daichi and Natsuki are working very hard on their entries. I am so proud of them and am looking forward to sharing the big day with them in Numazu when they give their speeches!

So, at school, things are moving right along, and time seems to be passing quickly. I hope that the students have been learning a lot from me and have been having fun in the classroom and in Club.

For as fast as time feels like its passing, it also feels like its passing just as slow. I often wish I was further along in class than I am. I wish I knew more students' names and I wish I was spending more time with them getting to know them. This is also my first time teaching, so I wish I had it "more together" as we say in America. But, I guess these things just take time.

For me at home, it's really a mix of both. I know I have accomplished a lot so far in just my one month of living in Shizuoka, but I would like to have accomplished much more already. But that's just typically me... I can be a perfectionist and sometimes set unreasonably high goals for myself in short amounts of time. In reality, the friends I've made, the places I've traveled already, the things I learned and the progress I've made adjusting to life in a foreign country is actually enough to cover TWO months of living in Japan, when I stop to think about it, not just the one it has been.

All in all, I basically have a LOT of expectations and a lot planned in my time here to both do for fun and to accomplish with my students and in this school. God has blessed me with this time here in Japan working at Gotemba Minami High School and I want to be a good steward of my time and talents here. I don't want to waste one second.

PS. Speaking of adjusting to life in a new country, I ventured off to Tokyo for the first time by myself yesterday! It was fun, but I guess you could say I needed to go because I "worked out all the bugs" for my next solo mission. (AKA I got a bit lost.....) :- /

Here are a few pictures from my Sunday Tokyo stroll...

Relaxing in the Starbucks and Tsutaya at the Shibuya Crossing!

My three FAVORITE things... coffee, music and Tokyo all in one! The perfect Sunday!

 

So, basically I spent probably 2 hours roaming around Tsutaya, listening to all the sample records they recommended. I came across this one by Fuzzy Control. This band really stands out to me because they are really good and the drummer is a girl! I am a female drummer as well and to see one be so successful makes me feel so inspired! Since my degree is in the music industry, I really want to explore the Japanese Music Industry while I'm here.

 

I stumbled upon a side street in Shibuya where you stand and eat different soba dishes. (I point out "stand" because I have NEVER seen this kind of thing in America. I think it's so cool! Really for your "on the go" type people). Cold soba is EASILY my favorite Japanese dish. I'm slightly addicted (haha)! I only paid 250 Yen for this fresh cooked meal. You can't get anything this tasty AND healthy for 2.50 dollars back in the states.

 

Oh, so this is kinda funny...

 

So the above is obviously my "before" picture... 

 

So here's my "after":

 

Destroyed.

 

 

 

 

New ALT From Nashville, Tennessee!

Hello, everyone! My name is Dianna Antenucci and I am SO excited to be the new ALT at Gotemba Minami High School! First, I want to thank my Principal and Vice Principals as well as my supervisor and all the teachers I have met so far for being so kind and welcoming to me. I will never forget all that you have done for me!

It's a quiet day in the teacher's room today so I thought I'd get this blog going again. I'll do my best to keep you updated on school functions and activities as they come up and I'll also be posting a bit about my new life here in Japan!

Well... I guess I should introduce myself to you. I am from Nashville, Tennessee in The United States of America.

My town is the state's capital, so it's starred!

 

Here's a "bigger picture" idea of where TN is in America

 

 

 

I call Tennessee home, but I first moved there in 2009 to attend Belmont University in Nashville where I earned my degree in Music Business. I worked my way through school and had the opportunity to intern for many different Music Business companies. I LOVE Nashville and plan to return there after my time on JET.

 

 

My parents and sister, Amanda, and I on Graduation Day at Belmont!

(They live in New Jersey with my dog, Zoe)

 

 

That's Zoe!

 

 

I've always loved Japanese culture from the time I was very little, but I never dreamed that I would get to live here one day. I often find myself walking around and taking all the sights and sounds in, being very grateful to be in the moment.

 

Well, I'm sure I could go on forever, but I think I'll stop here for now. If you want to know anything else about Tennessee or America or just want to chat, please don't be shy! I'm looking forward to getting to know all my students and getting to be great friends with everyone!

 

Talk to you after Opening Ceremony!

 

~Dianna



 

 



 

 



My favourite time....Bunkasaiiiii!

Last weekend was our school festival or bunkasai in Japanese. The festival lasts two days, Friday is just for the students to enjoy and Saturday is when the parents and past students come to take part. We don't have anything similar to this in Ireland, which is a shame because its so much fun and the students organize everything. It's a lot of responsibility! Each homeroom class decides on a theme for their class and decorate accordingly. They decide if they will have a game or serve food in their room. Students spend days painting, drawing, gluing and crafting so that the school becomes a colourful wonderland. These are also performances such as dance, singing, and instrumental.

Me as Wally in the middle with HR21

The students preparing their Line activity

Even the stairs were transformed

I got to hang out with the students teachers on Friday

I really enjoyed the shooting room

The Math club had so many puzzles, which were a lot of fun. My neighbor Jill came to enjoy the festival and this is her trying to solve a puzzle, she was good at them but this one was too difficult. Our English club had some boards about world food and also about our cooking club day. I think people liked it as they were informative and had great drawings.

Two members of English club

The third year English club members who will be leaving club now

I love the science clubs room too, there is always so many interesting creatures. My favourite is the Salamanders (above). Science club also play a common summer festival game called Kinyoshui, the object is to catch goldfish in a cup using a paper covered hoop as a net. You have to be careful not to rip the paper as when it breaks your turn is over. I caught only four goldfish but I watched the science teacher catch 23! 

I was so excited that my friend Jill came to visit my school. She is the ALT at Gotemba High School and we had so much fun visiting all the games rooms and eating lots of food. We really enjoyed the Coco Curry from HR33 and various things made by the cooking club.

The Brass Band club performed on Saturday morning and they were brilliant. As well as music some students performed a dance routine. Unfortunately my video isn't uploading but I will hopefully be able to fix it and upload at a later date. Until then, there are some picture below. Four of our teachers joined the club for the performance Miss Unno, Miss Goto, Mr Heima and Mr Atani, they were excellent.

Some of the first year students who watched the performance with me

The music clubs room was so much fun but it was very hot, so I didn't spend too much time in there.

Some of the students art

School council

All the students worked so hard and should be proud of their achievements. The students council worked tirelessly for weeks and most are third years so I hope they have many great memories of their last school festival. I certainly have lots!

Our Principle waiting to give out awards